Schumer, at Pactiv, details plan to connect dots for railway

Friday

Dec 6, 2013 at 11:39 AM

By Julie Sherwood jsherwood@messengerpostmedia.com

CANANDAIGUA — U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer received a warm welcome Thursday at the Pactiv packaging plant on North Street, where local officials and business leaders gathered to hear Schumer’s plan to close a gap in the upstate rail system. That gap is forcing thousands of rail cars a year to detour hundreds of miles at a cost of more than $840,000 annually, Schumer said.

Pactiv relies on the rail system to deliver raw materials used in its manufacture of food packaging. Pactiv is one of more than 60 manufacturers, farmers and other employers in the Finger Lakes that rely on Geneva-based Finger Lakes Railway in connecting production, supply and delivery lines.

A 11.5-mile gap in the Finger Lakes rail system is costing regional employers more than $840,000 annually because thousands of rails cars are forced to use a 380-mile detour, Schumer said. A tax credit Schumer seeks to extend through legislation he sponsors would enable Finger Lakes Railway to acquire an existing 11.5-mile stretch of track — Corning Secondary Line — giving Finger Lakes a new, direct connection to the CSX mainline in Lyons, Wayne County.

Finger Lakes Railway President Mike Smith said at the gathering the tax credit would provide the financial boost needed to hasten closing the gap.

“This tax credit is extremely important and a source of money to improve our service to customers,” Smith said.

The legislation — the Short Line Railroad Rehabilitation and Investment Act of 2013 — would extend the tax credit set to expire Jan. 1, 2014, allowing Finger Lakes Railway and other short-line freight railroads the ability to make infrastructure improvement through 2016.

“It would be full speed ahead for Finger Lakes Railway if they get this tax credit,” Schumer said.

Schumer explained that currently, the raw talc from Canada that Pactiv needs in its manufacturing must ship an extra two days and more than 380 miles east to Selkirk, N.Y., near Albany — where the Finger Lakes Railway now intersects with the CSX mainline switchyard. Once the goods reach Selkirk, they have to double back 380 miles to Pactiv in Canandaigua.

Pactiv Plant Manager Rod Kucera said the detour adds to shipping costs and delays. Shipping via rail travel is 1 to 3 cents cheaper per pound than shipping by truck, said Kucera.

A number of Ontario County supervisors were on hand during Schumer’s visit, including Canandaigua’s Sam Casella, Victor’s Jack Marren and Gorham’s Fred Lightfoote. Also on hand was Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb; members of Ontario County Economic Development, including director Michael Manikowski; and County Administrator John Garvey.

Geneva-based Finger Lakes Railway is currently negotiating to acquire the Corning line from Norfolk Southern. The tax credit would extend federal capital financing so Finger Lakes could fix and upgrade the Corning line, which had been abandoned, and put it back in operation.

The tax credit is valued at 50 percent of the cost of track maintenance and improvements, up to $3,500 per mile.

Over the past four years, the federal tax credit has supported repairs and upgrades including bridge replacement in Ontario County; rail replacement along the Auburn Industrial Track in Cayuga County; upgrades or replacements to four highway-grade crossings in Seneca and Cayuga counties; surfacing projects on the Auburn Road Line; and retrofitting of railway lines in Onondaga, Ontario, Cayuga and Seneca counties.